It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Thursday, April 3rd. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by Wyoming Community Gas. The Choice Gas selection period ends on Wednesday April 23rd – This is your opportunity to select your Natural Gas Provider for the coming year. For more information, visit Wyoming Community Gas dot ORG.”
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The University of Wyoming is set to allow the concealed carry of firearms inside most of its buildings starting July 1, but the policy for carrying guns outside will remain as it has been since 2016: Concealed or open carry are both allowed, without a permit.
Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that the UW Board of Trustees on Thursday voted unanimously to change the university’s firearms policy to match legislation that was passed this year.
“carrying firearms has been more or less allowed outside on campus grounds. But what's going to change is inside the buildings but don't get too excited, folks. That doesn't mean you can just strap on your six year and go running through UW campus… inside the buildings, you're going to have to be over. Age 21 and you're going to have to be a concealed carry permit holder before you can take a concealed firearm anywhere inside on the UW campus, you can't just walk in with your open carry gun and you need a permit.”
Firearms will still be prohibited in UW laboratories or facilities containing volatile or explosive materials. They also won’t be allowed in the UW Early Childhood Education Center, in campus healthcare facilities, or at sporting events where alcohol is being served.
Read the full story HERE.
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The search for missing Powell man Clint White was called off Tuesday evening after he was found dead, in an undisclosed location.
The 52-year-old was last seen on video surveillance leaving his home in the early morning hours of March 26, carrying a checkered blanket and generator. Cowboy State Daily’s Jen Kocher has been following this story.
“We know that he was found Tuesday evening. I'm not sure what time exactly, but his sister did contact me. She was kind enough to let me know it was after 8:30 I believe. And also, I spoke to police chief Rhea this morning, and he also filled in a few details. All we know at this point is the cause of death is unknown and it's currently under investigation, and no foul play is suspected… I'm assuming that Park County Search and Rescue had a large role to play in finding him, because Chief Rhea was very complimentary and thankful of their efforts… Clint's family, was so touched by the outpouring of support from the community. The community stepped up, not only just in searching, but in reaching out to let them know that they were being supported and and they they were very thankful, and asked me to pass that on.”
White had been missing for nearly a week as law enforcement and community volunteers searched for him.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Worland man accused of shooting his own dog six times this winter pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty and other criminal charges Wednesday, in Washakie County District Court.
60-year-old Donald “Dudley” Wright shot Axel the border collie mix the night of Jan. 13 at his home near Worland. And according to Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland, Wright is out of jail pending trial, but does have certain bond conditions.
“Dudley Wright pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. He's he's out on bond, and there was this argument about this other dog that keeps coming to his house. It's his dog, who's been staying at the neighbor's house where the alleged victims of the stocking component of the case live. And he asked the judge like care as I move this dog to a friend's house so she quits coming over here and possibly getting me in trouble with my bond conditions. And the judge said… it's your dog, you can decide who cares for your dog…
Axel was shot in the leg, shoulder, jaw and chest, and he had a plate and other hardware installed in his jaw. The four bullets that his veterinarian chose to leave in his body are there to stay.
Read the full story HERE.
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Tariffs on cars and parts made in Canada and Mexico went into effect Wednesday, leaving a vanishing window to beat price jumps.
Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean spoke to Wyoming auto dealers and buyers, some of whom are traveling across multiple states to find what they want before prices increase.
“People are not, maybe not panic buying, all of them, but some of them may be rushing to kind of beat these tariffs. Analysts have said it could add $10,000 to the price of the vehicle… it's not across the board either. Wendy, so it's a little difficult at this time to parse what's going to be more expensive… Like, one example, I think, is the Silverado. Chevy Silverado is like 36% 32% something like that made in Mexico and Canada. So that's the part that would get a tariff, right. But then, like, say, Honda, I think, is more like a 70 to 80% Made in America, so that's going to have a smaller impact, and also complicating that, it doesn't source any parts from Mexico or Canada, so its parts maybe won't have any impact.”
After tariffs hit prices, consumers who still need a vehicle will need to do more shopping around. And cars that have a higher percentage of American-made parts will probably be the best values going forward.
Read the full story HERE.
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The clock is ticking for Fremont County Republican Party leaders to nominate candidates, and for one of those to become the county’s next top prosecutor — after the county attorney of 10 years left the job this week.
Fremont County Attorney Patrick LeBrun vacated the office Monday, taking a job as deputy prosecutor with the Natrona County District Attorney’s Office. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that whoever fills the vacancy has their work cut out for them.
“If you are reporting crime in this state, you have crossed paths with Fremont County Attorney Patrick Lebrun, who worked arguably the most violent county, Fremont, and did it for 10 years… The Fremont County Republican Party Central Committee now has to nominate three attorneys to potentially fill the position, and then the Fremont County Commission has to hire one of those. So we have an ongoing prosecutor shortage. We have a rough and tumble County, and we have some very large shoes to fill, because LeBron has been part of every major decision implicated in this county for a decade.”
The party has scheduled a meeting for April 12 at the Shoshoni Community Center to vet candidates, and applicants have until April 7 to apply.
Read the full story HERE.
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The way some county Republican parties have been conducting elections this spring has triggered controversy across Wyoming, with at least one county party’s election results being disputed.
The dispute comes down to who’s being allowed to cast a vote in these county party elections. In 2023, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that county parties can only allow precinct committee members to vote in their leadership elections as a result of a Uinta County lawsuit, based on state law.
But Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson reports that the chief legal counsel for the Wyoming GOP is telling the county parties they can ignore this ruling because he believes the state law is unconstitutional.
“Why this matters is because in the Hot Springs County Republican party election held March 17, Joe Martinez was elected strictly by precinct committee members. However, they collected some votes from some of the officers as well. If they count those votes, it will change the results of the election and Martinez will not be the county party chair. This has raised concern from a number of people, a number of Republicans around the state… it kind of speaks to kind of this divide that we see in the Republican Party between some of the more conservative, farther to the right elements that support the attorneys interpretation, and then more more others who believes, believe in kind of a, more of a, you know, to the T following state law type approach to this issue.”
Many in the state GOP have contended that the party should be treated as a fully private organization that can pass any bylaw it wants. That argument holds weight except for the fact that precinct committee members are elected publicly, throwing a public aspect into at least some of the party’s dynamics.
Read the full story HERE.
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With a controversial Bureau of Land Management plan for millions of acres in south-central Wyoming still on hold, Sweetwater County Commissioners hope that when things start moving again, it will be in their favor.
The commission late Tuesday sent a letter to the office of Wyoming’s Republican U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, addressing the status of the federal Rock Springs Resource Management Plan in light of the changes under President Donald Trump. That’s according to Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz.
“They just reached out to Hageman and said, you know, hey, we want to make sure that we are complying with the new administration's wishes and and we're getting what we want. And you know, it sounds like they're kind of going for the middle ground. They really want to retool the RMP, but as they stated before, they don't want it just wiped out, because then they'd have to build the whole thing back up from scratch. And I did hear back from Hageman’s office. He just said, Yes, we're on board. We hear what they're saying. We want to support them.”
The BLM manages about 3.6 million acres of land from the Rock Springs office, the bulk of it in Sweetwater County. Alternative B would have designated 1.8 million acres, or about half, as “areas of critical environmental concern.”
Read the full story HERE.
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A 25-year-old Gillette man who is already in prison for assaulting jail officers is now accused of attacking prison guards when they wouldn’t let him keep gingerbread-making supplies in his cell.
Tyler Gray was charged with felony police interference Monday, on evidence that he kicked and thrashed at prison guards. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the incident dates back to Nov. 26, 2024, when the prison staffers allowed goods used for a gingerbread-making contest in inmates’ pods, but not in their cells.
“I don't know what exactly the supplies were or why he wanted them in the cell so badly, but when the cells got tossed, there was a dispute about the gingerbread making supplies, and according to the affidavit, he was kicking, thrashing, screaming, and connected with a couple of the guards… This is what they call felony interference, where if you're injuring or trying to injure a cop doing his duties or her duties, then it's a potential 10 years. So for two officers involved, that's a potential 20 years on top of the sentence that he's already serving out on the same style of charge.”
Gray was arrested on a domestic battery charge in 2019, then charged multiple times that year on evidence that he punched, head-butted and bit Campbell County Detention Center officers.
Read the full story HERE.
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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for tuning in - I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
